[SOLD OUT] Kensaku Seki’s artist book “2:16.22”

06/28/2020

ALL EDITIONS ARE NOW SOLD OUT.

Kenseki Seki’s artist book “2:16.22” now one sale!
This book was made by Kensaku Seki with the theme of athletes’ memories and records.
Kenseki Seki has three years of experience working as a physical education teacher after graduating from a physical education department.
He has faced athletes with various approaches as part of his life work.

“2:16.22” in the title of this work means 2 hours 16 minutes 22 seconds, and is the record of Kokichi Tsuburaya who won the bronze medal in the marathon competition of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
After several years of glory, Tsuburaya died himself.
An attempt to visualize the loneliness and conflicts that athletes have, and the undifferentiated things that dwell in them, unravels the relationship between records and athletes.
This work won the KYOTOGRAPHIE Portfolio Review FUJIFILM AWARD Grand Prize in 2019.

“2:16.22”

A record time is the athlete’s calling card.
Numbers are insignificant and just a tiny part.
Therefore, I feel the gap between them and the grand tales of sweat and strain behind the scenes.
2 hours 16 minutes and 22 seconds was the marathon record of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Koukichi Tsuburaya.
He grabbed a moment’s glory, then tragically ended his life at the young age of 27.
The record that symbolized his glory suddenly became a goal he had to transcend.
The numbers formed an insurmountable barrier, forcing him into isolation and despair.
This exhibition looks at five athletes who stake their lives on the act of running and the on-going fight to set records.
A long distance runner coexisting with pain, a sprinter beset by convulsive anxieties, a hurdler unable to face up to popular expectations, a sprinter whose relationships suffered when he became an Olympic medalist, a hurdler emotionally dependent on her coach.
Based on interviews, I try to visualize the other side of winning.
As a former track and field athlete who used to challenge records, this project is an effort to untangle fine strands of memory caught up in numbers.

Kensaku Seki
English proof: Tammy Law, Megan Saltzman, Jinhwa Chang

©︎Kensaku Seki / 2:16.22

[ Book Specifications ]
◎Kensaku Seki’s artist book 2:16.22
◎Number of pages: 188pages
◎Size: 257×182×32mm
◎A limited number of production: 27 editions (all editions signed)
◎Concept / Photography / Edit / Texts / Binding: Kensaku Seki
◎Special Thanks to: Kiyokatsu Hasegawa, Shinji Takahira, Dai Tamesue, Haruko Ishizuka, Yuta Kanno, Kokichi Tsuburaya Memorial Hall, Yumi Goto, Teun Van der Heijen, Sandra van der Doelen, Kunio Aoyama, FUJIFILM Corporation, KYOTOGRAPHIE
◎Archival Photographs: Kokichi Tsuburaya Memorial Hall, Kiyokatsu Hasegawa, Shinji Takahira
◎Comic Essay: Haruko Ishizuka
◎Translations and English Proofreading: Tammy Law, Megan Saltzman, Jinhwa Chang
◎Concept, editing, and art-direction developed in the 2018 Photobook Master class workshop by Yumi Goto, Teun van der Heijen, and Sandra van der Doelen in collaboration with Reminders Photography Stronghold.
◎Price: 17,850 JPY (Asia) 18,500 yen (Oceania, North America, Central America, Middle East, Europe) 19,200 yen (South America, Africa) Consumption tax and postage included, and will be shipped by Japan Post’s international air freight service.
We will ship your order as soon as we receive confirmation of your payment via Paypal.
Please allow 1 to 2 months for the production period. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
There are some countries where Japan Post is delaying shipping due to the new coronavirus.
Please check this list before placing your order, as your shipment will be delayed if the country you are shipping to is on the list.
●6/18/2020 – Temporary suspension of acceptance of various mail items destined to the United StatesResumption and temporary suspension of acceptance, delivery delays of mail items destined to various countries/territories (Updated on June 18)
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